Suntan lotion 'raises risk of cancer'

Although they help prevent sunburn, lotions fail to block out the harmful ultraviolet rays which can cause the disease, a study has found. They therefore give sun worshippers a false sense of security.

The dangers will be spelt out when burns specialist Professor Roy Sanders declares that the only ways to truly protect the skin are by staying in the shade at the hottest times of the day or by covering up with hats and T-shirts.

His stark warning will alarm millions who basked in record temperatures of up to 100F with only sun cream for protection during this year's long, hot summer.

Lotion sales are at an all-time high in Britain, where the market is worth £146million a year. One supermarket chain reported a 1,550 per cent increase in demand over one weekend this July.

According to Professor Sanders, one in 68 of the present adult population will be diagnosed with malignant melanoma - the most dangerous form of skin cancer - at some point in their life. By 2010, however, that figure will have risen to one in 50.

Skin cancer can be caused by two types of ultraviolet light, the short, energetic wavelengths of light in the sun's rays.

One is UVA, which penetrates the skin most deeply and can suppress the immune system and damage cells. The other is UVB, which also damages skin cells.

The 'factor' rating on a bottle of lotion refers to the level of protection against UVB, historically considered the greater danger. A little-known one to four star system - normally printed on the back of bottles - indicates the level of protection against UVA.

Experts now believe UVA may be a greater cause of malignant melanoma, which kills up to 1,600 Britons every year.

The findings of the 13-year-study led by Professor Sanders, who is based at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood, North-West London, will be revealed today.

Research involved taking discarded skin from patients undergoing surgery at the hospital - a leading NHS centre for plastic surgery - and exposing it to UVA light at intensities similar to those of direct sunlight.

Three widely available high-factor creams were applied to the skin in recommended doses.

Tests showed none of them offered sufficient protection against the release of the damaging free radicals thought to cause melanoma and premature aging of the skin.

Professor Sanders said: 'The incidence of skin cancer is increasing alarmingly and for melanoma, the most sinister and aggressive form, the lifetime risk is doubling every decade.

'Since the use of sunscreens encourages people to stay longer in the sun and the protection afforded by these creams against UVB far outweighs that against UVA, the use of sunscreen creams may indirectly increase the risk of developing the skin cancer malignancy melanoma.'

Professor Mark Birch-Machin, a skin cancer spokesman for Cancer Research UK who is based at Newcastle University, backed up the findings last night.

He said that that, while many lotions could help protect against UVB, they were typically only 80 per cent as effective in shielding users from UVA.

'UVA is becoming as sinister as UVB,' he added. 'Sunscreens are just part of our toolbox and we shouldn't rely on them alone. They're the last line of defence.

'Relying on sunscreens gives a false sense of security. Just because you are not burning you spend longer out in the sun and get more UVA damage.